At least nine people have been killed and 26 others injured following a powerful explosion at a fireworks factory in central China’s Hunan province, according to state media reports.
The blast occurred early Monday morning in a rural village near the city of Changde.
Rescue operations are ongoing, but efforts have been hampered by the risk of further explosions and the factory’s remote mountainous location with limited water supply.
Emergency teams have been using remotely operated hoses to control the blaze for over 20 hours.
China’s Ministry of Emergency Management has dispatched a task force to oversee the response and investigate the cause of the explosion. Authorities have emphasized the urgent need to identify what triggered the incident and to hold those responsible accountable.
Industrial accidents remain a concern in China, where previous blasts, including a deadly 2015 chemical warehouse explosion in Tianjin, have drawn attention to safety standards in hazardous industries.
Last month, five people died in a separate explosion at a chemical plant in Shandong province.
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